Mr. Pat O'Mahony:

The ETBI sees this legislative initiative as an opportunity for the State, once and for all and probably fairly late in the piece, to put a statutory framework in place that will guarantee transparency and equity in school admissions for all young people in their community.

The strengths of the Bill are as follows. Admission policies must be published, the Bill, through an amendment to the Education Act, puts inclusion at the centre of a school's business, and the Bill gives principals responsibility for the implementation of their school's admission policy. This involves resourcing issues, although not hugely significant, because the principals will have extra responsibilities. The insertion of the key provisions in the admissions framework into a new section 10 in the Education Act has merit and makes a lot of sense, and a consolidated Education Act would also make a lot of sense in that it would pick up amendments to the Education Act and bits from education, welfare, and so on in a single Act to enable everyone to find what they needed to know about schools and their management and operation.

The Bill will mean that a school's admission policy must state explicitly that a school will not discriminate in its admission of a student on the nine grounds of discrimination, which include gender and civil status, among others, plus the additional one of special needs. Of interest and with merit is that in each case it is with respect to either the student or the applicant. That is an important aspect and warrants mention.

The Bill specifies what must be included in an admission policy. That was not the case heretofore. Parent or parents will be required to accept the code of behaviour in a school. That is a positive development. The Bill also stipulates that the criteria for selection, where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, must be included in a policy. There is clear guidance about that and there is a clear prohibition on certain criteria being used.

The following small difficulty might surprise people. The enrolment application fees and voluntary contributions are proscribed, which is welcome. However, it needs to be recognised that the banning of voluntary contributions will require a significant increase in capitation payments. We estimate that the increase could be as much as 30%.

The ETBI has the following reservations. Students can be refused entrance to their local school because of their family's religion or lack of religion. That is unacceptable in a diverse and increasingly secular Ireland. This is a very complex matter. We need to get it right rather than do something about it. Again, there are resource implications.

The Bill does not address soft barriers such as the lack of a comprehensive curriculum in a school. By having a narrow curriculum one automatically says to some people that they are not welcome in a school. I believe schools should be required to have a broad curriculum in order that they can cater equally to students in their community. Schools must also have a clear commitment to special needs support. A lack of support can also act as a soft barrier. In the interests of students, schools and society at large, each school should take a fair proportion of students with special educational needs.

The Bill needs to define what constitutes a student vacancy. It is not that simple to define and it is quite complex at second level. There is a need for greater clarity around upholding the right of students who do not wish to attend religious instruction and worship. There is probably a need for national guidelines on same. Again, the matter is quite complex. The matter of priority for relatives of former students remains to be addressed. A parent or parents need to be able to appeal against a school designation in cases where they are unsatisfied with the designation. Also, the resources required to meet the needs of the student must accompany designation rather than sometime later when a student has lost his or her way a little.

Many difficult hurdles remain to be addressed, particularly the elucidation of an appeals process that is transparently fair, administratively efficient, expeditious and cost effective. Since the most contentious issues are of a human rights character, consideration must be given to recent comments by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Recognition must be given that the Bill has implications that extend well beyond mere ambition to attend a school. The Bill must be considered as part of a package that provides for the vindication of competing rights in a reasonable and balanced manner.